‘Her disease literally disappeared’

There are few words that adequately convey the appreciation Anne Entriken feels for the care she received while fighting cancer.

"I was a recipient of one of the most remarkable things in modern medicine today,” said Entriken, who lives in Fernandina Beach with her husband, Sam. "I sing the praises of this treatment. It’s a true success story."

Entriken is now more than four years free of cancer, thanks to a new breakthrough immunotherapy treatment at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Combating an aggressive cancer

Despite living an active lifestyle, in fall 2020, Entriken began to feel sluggish and much more tired than usual. Time passed, and she saw her primary care doctor in early 2021. Her physician ordered a blood test, and within 24 hours, he personally called her and told her to go to the Emergency Room at Baptist Medical Center Nassau. After more testing and scans, Entriken was sent by ambulance to Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville.

An endoscopy – a procedure in which a small scope is used to examine the body’s organs – revealed she had ampullary carcinoma, a rare type of cancer that affects multiple digestive organs including the liver, pancreas and first part of the small intestine, the duodenum.

The cancer forms in the ampulla of Vater, a valve in the wall of the duodenum which allows bile and pancreatic enzymes to enter the small intestine from the bile duct and pancreas.

Because of the aggressive nature of this tumor, the multi-specialty treatment team with Baptist MD Anderson opted for upfront chemotherapy, an increasingly common choice for tumor in this region of the body, with medical oncologist Robert Zaiden, MD, FACP.

After several months of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and treat microscopic spread of disease, Entriken had surgery to remove the cancer and surrounding areas. Niraj Gusani, MD, MS, FACS, a surgical oncologist and chief of Surgical Oncology with Baptist MD Anderson, performed a pancreatoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, to remove multiple organs, including the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, the duodenum, portions of the stomach and small intestine, and surrounding lymph nodes. Following this surgery, the team performed a multi-step reconstruction to connect the remaining pancreas and digestive organs.

“It’s a very complex procedure that can take six to eight hours. Anne’s surgery and recovery went extremely well, in part due to her excellent preoperative health,” Dr. Gusani said.

Revolutionary immunotherapy

Unfortunately, after another round of chemotherapy, Entriken’s tumor came back, with several spots on her liver. This prompted a change in strategy, with the medical team opting to give her infusions of pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), an immunotherapy that helps the body’s own immune system fight cancer cells.

Dr. Zaiden, also director of the Infusion Centers at Baptist MD Anderson, said Entriken saw a dramatic effect from immunotherapy.

“She had an excellent response,” Dr. Zaiden said. “She had a disease that wasn’t responding to anything else. We put her on immunotherapy, and her disease literally disappeared. She has remained disease-free for years now.”

Entriken was impressed with the entire Baptist MD Anderson team, including Drs. Zaiden and Gusani, who checked on her regularly in the hospital. Because the surgery was during COVID-19, her husband wasn’t able to visit, so she appreciated how often the oncologists and other providers checked on her.

“Dr. Gusani was the most talented and thorough surgeon I have ever experienced,” she said. “He is the top of the heap.”

She added, “Dr. Zaiden is what anyone would consider 'the perfect doctor for oncology,' in that he listened, diagnosed and executed exactly what was needed to handle my situation. He engaged us as a family, and is most definitely thorough. These two fine men exemplify – and I’ve witnessed it up close and personal – exactly what the word 'doctor' is meant to be, and each possesses the capacity to deliver beyond what is needed to help their patients.”

‘In the right place at the right time’

Entriken returns to Baptist MD Anderson for follow-up appointments and extensive bloodwork every six months, as well as regularly scheduled scans.

Married 59 years, she and her husband are enjoying time with their two children and four active granddaughters. They also have a very satisfying retired community social life.

Entriken, who has lived in Northeast Florida for 37 years, marvels at the medical advances made in the area.

"It's a real blessing to live here. We are so privileged," she said. "There is a massive amount of new research continually emerging to treat all types of cancers. I feel I was in the right place at the right time.”

Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center has everything you need to take on cancer. To learn more, visit baptistmdanderson.com or call 1.844.632.2278.